Systems and methods for automatically messaging a contact in a social network

Abstract

Embodiments provide methods and systems for automatically sending a communication to a contact in a social network. In some embodiments, a social network server receives a user selection of a competitor involved in a competition about which the user would like to send messages. The social network server identifies a media asset that is associated with the competitor, such as a video clip of the competition. The social network server then identifies one of the user's contacts who is also interested in the competition. The social network server automatically transmits the media asset to the identified contact.

1 . A method for sending a communication to a contact in a social network, the method comprising:
 receiving a user selection identifying a competitor involved in a competition from a user of the social network;   automatically identifying, by control circuitry, a media asset associated with the competitor identified by the user selection;   identifying, by control circuitry, a contact of the user in the social network with an interest in the competition using data stored on the social network; and   automatically transmitting, by communications circuitry, the identified media asset to the identified contact.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the competitor identified by the user selection is opposed to the interest of the contact, the method further comprising:
 determining, from data associated with the media asset, that the media asset is desirable to the user and is undesirable to the contact.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the competitor identified by the user selection is the same as or is aligned with the interest of the contact, the method further comprising:
 determining, from data associated with the media asset, that the media asset desirable to both the user and the contact.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the competitor identified by the user selection is one of a sports team and an athlete, and the identified media asset is a video clip of the competition involving the competitor. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 automatically generating a message pertaining to the identified media asset; and   automatically transmitting, by the communications circuitry, the message pertaining to the identified media asset to the contact.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein content of the message pertaining to the identified media asset is based on whether the interest of the contact is the same as, aligned with, or opposed to the competitor identified by the user selection. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the contact is associated with a group that shares the interest of the contact, and transmitting the identified media asset to the contact comprises transmitting the identified media asset to the group. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising automatically selecting the contact from a plurality of contacts of the user in the social network, wherein automatically selecting the contact comprises:
 comparing competitors in which the plurality of contacts are interested to the competitors involved in the competition, wherein each of the competitors in which the plurality of contacts are interested may or may not be involved in the competition; and   selecting a contact that is interested in a competitor involved in the competition.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , the wherein identifying the interest of the contact comprises performing text analytics on text that the social network associates with the contact. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising identifying the competition in which the competitor identified by the user selection is involved by:
 receiving a data feed comprising data related to a plurality of competitions;   comparing the competitors of each of the plurality of competitions to the competitor identified by the user selection; and   selecting, from the plurality of competitions, a competition in which the competitor identified by the user selection is involved.   
     
     
         11 . A system for sending a communication to a contact in a social network, the system comprising:
 control circuitry configured to:
 receive a user selection identifying a competitor involved in a competition from a user of the social network; 
 automatically identify a media asset associated with the competitor identified by the user selection; and 
 identifying a contact of the user in the social network with an interest in the competition using data stored in a database of the social network; and 
   communications circuitry in communications with the control circuitry to automatically transmit the identified media asset to a user device of the identified contact.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the competitor identified by the user selection is opposed to the interest of the contact, and the control circuitry is further configured to:
 determine, from data associated with the media asset, that the media asset is desirable to the user and is undesirable to the contact.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the competitor identified by the user selection is the same as or is aligned with the interest of the contact, and the control circuitry is further configured to:
 determine, from data associated with the media asset, that the media asset desirable to both the user and the contact.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the competitor identified by the user selection is one of a sports team and an athlete, and the identified media asset is a video clip of the competition involving the competitor. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the control circuitry is further configured to automatically generate a message pertaining to the identified media asset; and   the communications circuitry is further configured to automatically transmit the message pertaining to the identified media asset to the user device of the contact.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein content of the message pertaining to the identified media asset is based on whether the interest of the contact is the same as, aligned with, or opposed to the competitor identified by the user selection. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the contact is associated with a group that shares the interest of the contact, and transmitting the identified media asset to the contact comprises transmitting the identified media asset to the group. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to automatically select the contact from a plurality of contacts of the user in the social network by:
 comparing competitors in which the plurality of contacts are interested to the competitors involved in the competition, wherein each of the competitors in which the plurality of contacts are interested may or may not be involved in the competition; and   selecting a contact that is interested in a competitor involved in the competition.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , the wherein identifying the interest of the contact comprises performing text analytics on text that the social network associates with the contact. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to identify the competition in which the competitor identified by the user selection is involved by:
 receiving a data feed comprising data related to a plurality of competitions;   comparing the competitors of each of the plurality of competitions to the competitor identified by the user selection; and   selecting, from the plurality of competitions, a competition in which the competitor identified by the user selection is involved.   
     
     
         21 - 30 . (canceled)